


Consequences

by Cheeky_The_Monkey



Series: Whumptober 2020 [31]
Category: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternative Perspective, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:34:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27328138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheeky_The_Monkey/pseuds/Cheeky_The_Monkey
Summary: If the humans had found Jack after he was shot down, how would that impact society?Written for Whumptober 2020! Day 31 Prompt: Experiment
Series: Whumptober 2020 [31]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1951183
Kudos: 7
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Consequences

“Grandpa?” 

Richard smiled at his granddaughter as she tugged at his pajama leg. “Yes sweetie?”

“You like Christmas, don’t you?” Little Lily asked with wide, curious eyes.

“Of course I do!” Richard scoffed playfully, pulling a silly face for the child. “Who wouldn’t?”

Lily hesitated before asking her question. “Then why don’t you let me and Dad put food out for Santa? All my friends do it and-”

“No.” He said firmly.

Richard’s son, Luke, glared at his father from across the room. “Dad, why not? It’s harmless fun and you can’t just deny her like that without a good explanation. So unless you give one-” he turned to his daughter and softened his tone- “we’ll put things out for Santa, okay?”

“I said _no!”_ Richard repeated, angrier. “And Luke, I thought you remembered!”

“Remembered _what,_ Dad?”

Running a hand through his beard, Richard sighed. “I’ll tell you later. But please trust me and do not leave anything out for ‘Santa Claus’. I have my reasons.”

* * *

Jenkins practically crashed into him in the hallway.

“Richie! You won’t believe what’s in there! It’s, no, I can’t- I’m going home. This is all just a nightmare. I… I gotta go.”

That’s all Jenkins said before he broke into a sprint and fled down the corridor, leaving behind a very confused Richie.

He’d been summoned to help out in the lab since most of the professionals were dropping like flies (Jenkins included). Very cautiously, almost dreading to find out the identity of the Fake Santa, he entered the room…

...and ran straight back out again.

He’d only caught a glimpse of the creature in the cage, but one glimpse was enough to instantly shatter his resolve.

But Richie Perkins never backed away from a challenge.

Taking a deep breath, he re-entered the lab and dared to look again.

It was definitely skeletal, but not quite a human skeleton. Its proportions were strange, with long, thin arms that stretched close to the ground revealing claw-like fingers, and a round skull that stretched as it opened its mouth revealing pointed yellowed teeth.

And though the enclosure was soundproofed, the way its mouth was moving as if was talking sent a shiver down Richie’s spine.

There was a loud beep emitted from a machine off to the side, and Dr Hughes gradually lowered the phone from his ear. The room of bustling soldiers and scientists fell silent and awaited his words.

“I consulted Professor Whitman in London.” He began, pointedly ignoring the pounding on the glass by the impossibly tall creature. “And, by description alone, he’s pretty certain that this is a being called ‘The Pumpkin King’. He has named research resources which I’ve noted but… I haven’t a clue how to proceed. We’ve never gotten anything like this before and at this point I think it’s the president’s call.”

Through the corner of his eye, Richie noticed that the skeleton (or the so-called ‘Pumpkin King’) had stopped knocking on the glass and instead had resorted to simply observing them. But knowing that those empty eye sockets were focused on them left Richie feeling incredibly unsettled.

The knowledge that countless children had faced it alone made the feeling even worse.

“In the meantime, this… thing survived missiles and an enormous fall. Let’s see if we can find a limit. Gentlemen, this is now an experiment.”

* * *

“We were instructed to keep it for a month before we had to let it go.”

“Why?” Luke asked, still shocked by his father’s story. “Did the president say?”

Richard shuddered at the memory.

“Not exactly. The base was… attacked. Dozens upon dozens of hellish monsters turned up and got us overrun. Demanded their king back and it all happened so quickly that we just let them take it. And after all we’d done to it… it strutted out with its skull held high as if nothing had happened.”

He placed a hand on his son’s knee.

“That was the Fake Santa, Luke. And I’m not going to risk it coming back, not even for a second. I don’t know about those kids from that year, but I can’t ever think of Christmas the same way again. And we are _not_ leaving out cookies.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


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